What Are The Benefits of Virtual Pediatric Care?

Ever wondered about the benefits of virtual pediatric care? Picture this—

Your kid experiences endless bouts of cough in the middle of the night during the off hours of the clinics. Or what if you have to take off from work just to take your kid to the clinic for minor rashes?

Top of that, what to do if medical aid is not in your area for such non-emergency cases?

Enter virtual pediatric care.

As the name suggests, it is the way to deliver health services for the kids over the telephone or the Internet.

In virtual pediatric care, you can contact the doctor over the phone or access him via video call over the app. A doctor will guide you on the process to treat your kids and prescribes you some medicine. Plus, the medical history will be recorded so that a new pediatrician will act accordingly.

This way, virtual pediatric services make healthcare accessible irrespective or your location and time.

Read Also: Advantage of Telehealth

Here we are going to highlight some key benefits of virtual pediatric care

Beneficial in the Off Hours of Clinics:

Not all clinics are opened throughout the day. Generally, they have their own time schedules. However, illness or health problems don’t come in time. They just happen accidentally on any given day. The last thing to worry about them is that their wrong timing such as midnight or when clinics are not open.

But you won’t let your kids suffer throughout the night from sneezing, coughing, temperature, or other non-emergency conditions.

That’s why virtual pediatric care is important in such situations.

With virtual pediatric care, you don’t need to wait for the clinics to open. Most virtual care clinics are open 24/7, meaning that you can access them anytime. Timely help from such clinics can make a difference to ease your kid’s health condition. Some even deliver the prescribed medication at your doorstep.

Feasible Option for Remote Areas:

Many rural and remote areas are still deprived of quality health care. They have little to no healthcare facilities in their areas, making them travel to the cities or main area for the same. With virtual healthcare services, they can access to a physician at the comfort of their home. This way, it helps minimize barriers to care for communities living far away from specializing or who have transportation issues.

Delivering healthcare over the phone or the internet can be a great approach to communication and counseling. With these mediums, doctors can monitor chronic health conditions like lung or heart disease. Better monitoring and consultation can improve quality of life and minimize hospital admissions.

Minimizing the Need for Traveling to and Fro Clinics:

Even visiting near pediatricians can eat up a lot of time and cause hassles while going through parking and jams. This is an even bigger concern for the patients living miles away from the care they require, and when they can’t access services promptly, they might see poor results. For example, a patient who has a follow-up for allergies might not visit as their guardians are not willing or able to travel a couple of hours to see the doctors for a checkup. This might worsen their condition, leading to hospital admissions and readmissions.

Read Also: Why should you consider Telemedicine for your Children

Here virtual pediatrics care can be a great help. Parents can access physician online for their kids and ask for a prescription. This way, they are less likely to travel to and fro clinics, saving them time and hassles. It would be a great relief for the parents who have to take a day off from the work just to visit the physician for a minor checkup.

Making the Kids Feel Comfortable with Checkup:

This is quite common that kids experience anxiety and fear while visiting a doctor’s office or clinical settings. It is especially true for toddler-aged kids as they can resort to meltdown or tantrums even at the sight of a doctor.

According to one survey, 20% of parents admitted that it is challenging to focus on the advice given by a doctor or nurse because their kids are upset during the appointment.

But that is less likely to happen with virtual pediatric care. Everything is done over the phone or video call where kids might not scare to see the doctor. It will also help parents to share their concerns and get medical advice properly as they are less likely to be disturbed by the kid’s tantrums.

Having Access to Care from Anywhere:

Given that virtual care is provided over the Internet or phone, you can approach the pediatricians from anywhere, whether you are on holiday or away from your city.

This way, you have peace of mind that you can access your pediatrician any time. Plus, you don’t need to worry if you have to come back just because of the follow-up or the prescription of your kids.

The sudden medical conditions of your kids can be eased by accessing your virtual healthcare provider from your location.

Storing of the Medical Records:

The good thing is that you don’t need to carry the medical reports of your kids all the time. Many telehealth apps or tools let you store your health data such as MRI scans, x-rays, prescriptions, and follow-ups with them. A new pediatrician can check this health record to deliver quick help.

Reducing the Risk of Catching a New Illness:

This is safe to say that anyone can catch COVID 19 easily as soon as they go out in the public. And this risk gets manifold in hospitals and clinics. You can easily come into contact with other patients as well as touch the contaminated surfaces, making you and your kids vulnerable.

Virtual care eliminates this risk. Since all the interaction with the doctor taking place over the phone or computer, there is no chance to catch the virus and pass it on to others.

This way, opting for virtual care can help you protect yourself and your kids from viruses like COVID 19. In fact, virtual health services are considered important for the prevention of COVID 19.

Affordable:

This is one of the main benefits of virtual pediatric care. Telehealth is not only convenient and a simple way to access healthcare, but also saves you money. First of all, it minimizes your visit to the doctor, thereby saving you on fuel and parking costs.

Besides, it is affordable compared to meeting a physician in-person. The average cost of visiting a doctor is $85 for low-emergency consultation compared to $50 for a virtual clinic.

And one more thing—you don’t need to take time off from work to see the pediatrician during work hours. According to one study, virtual health care or telehealth can save the nation as much as USD 4.28 billion on annual healthcare expenses.

Read Also: Telehealth During COVID-19 Pandemic

Bottom Line:

Above were some key benefits of virtual pediatric care. It is important for getting care at the right time when you’re not able to access a doctor for mobility, transportation, or off-hours issues. As coronavirus continues to take the toll on life, opting for virtual pediatric care is a safe option. It is an ideal method for consultations and home monitoring of certain health conditions. Luckily, there are many online virtual pediatric care platforms as well as a mobile app to get started with virtual healthcare.

What do you think? Let us know by commenting below!